The natural ecology of many aquatic environments around the world is under threat due to human activity, climate change, and other sources. For example, invasive species have been spread and introduced into river, lake, and coastal systems, often unintentionally carried from other parts of the world by people traveling or in ballast water of ships, disrupting the natural habitat of aquatic life in these environments. Climate change or industrial pollutions also can disrupt aquatic life. To address these threats, there is a need to study aquatic life in these environments.
One example of a threatened system is the St. Clair River, which connects Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair in the Great Lakes Waterway of central North America. The native aquatic life and habitat of the St. Clair River is threatened by sea lamprey, an invasive species, which threat the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission is attempting to manage via application of lampricides. Sea lamprey larvae grow into parasitic marine animals who attach onto and kill native Great Lakes fish. Sea lamprey are each capable of killing as much as 40 pounds of fish during their 18 month lifespan. However, it is suspected that sea lamprey may evade the applications of lampricide, and the effectiveness of the lampricide on young lamprey may vary under different water conditions (e.g., temperature and pH).
Another example of a threatened aquatic life is fish whose spawning activity may be affected by change in water temperature, pH and other conditions due to climate change or nearby industrial activity. Tourist activity and water transportation also can pressure various species of aquatic life impacting aquatic ecosystems. Some other examples of aquatic life activity to investigate therefore include manta ray migration patterns in oceans, the spawning activity of lake trout, and invasive lion fish in coral reef ecosystems.
For the above and other purposes, the ability to study activities of aquatic species and how they may be affected in differing conditions of their water environment is needed. However, existing devices and systems for study of aquatic life have not been fully effective. For example, due to their movement and vibration, underwater drones can frighten away the aquatic species under study, making it difficult to observe their natural activity.
Therefore, there exists ample opportunity for improvement in technologies related to study of aquatic life and their environment.